HBO Apologizes for ‘Game of Thrones’ George W. Bush Head

Though the ‘Game of Thrones‘ season 1 Blu-Ray and DVD has been out for several months now, controversy is just now making the rounds about production and commentary for the show’s first season finale “Fire and Blood.” We’d seen the freak Easter Egg about former President George W. Bush being included among the severed head props used on the show, but what does HBO have to say about it?

HBO has issued an official apology to those offended by the ‘Game of Thrones’ use of the former President George W. Bush’s likeness as a severed head displayed several times throughout the show’s first season. Though not prominently showcased, the head was seen among several for season 1 finale ‘Fire and Blood” and reportedly used for necessity on multiple other occasions, according to the commentary from series show-runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

After outcry from several Republican groups, HBO and series bosses David Benioff and D.B. Weiss issued the following apology, in spite of the dated (and previously approved) nature of the display:

HBO: We were deeply dismayed to see this and find it unacceptable, disrespectful and in very bad taste. We made this clear to the executive producers of the series who apologized immediately for this inadvertent careless mistake. We are sorry this happened and will have it removed from any future DVD production.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss: We use a lot of prosthetic body parts on the show: heads, arms, etc. We can’t afford to have these all made from scratch, especially in scenes where we need a lot of them, so we rent them in bulk. After the scene was already shot, someone pointed out that one of the heads looked like George W. Bush.

In the DVD commentary, we mentioned this, though we should not have. We meant no disrespect to the former President and apologize if anything we said or did suggested otherwise.

It remains to be seen what future changes HBO will actually make to the episode on DVD production or even in broadcast, though it’s interesting to note how Weiss and Benioff seem to be backpedaling, having previously claimed to know the mock-up was, in fact, the likeness of Bush.

What say you? Were you offended to see the former President as a severed head, or was the appearance all in good fun? Will this incident at all affect your enjoyment of ‘Game of Thrones’ going forward? let us know in the comments!

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